Albo stood up by Trump in classic first date disaster in Knight cartoon

It was to be the biggest date night of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s adult life. No disrespect to his fiancee Jodie Haydon, to whom the PM is engaged to be married sometime this year, but his meeting with the US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7* leaders’ conference in Canada had a lot of things riding on it.

It would be the first time the two leaders had met, and a chance for Albo to introduce himself to arguably the most powerful and unpredictable man in the world and reinforce the longstanding relationship, forged during World War II, between the USA and Australia.

It is that relationship as a firm ally of the United States that was being questioned recently after the President wanted a reset on all strategic partnerships with all allies.

It wouldn’t be a light chat between the two leaders, with casual small talk like, “how’s Melania?” or, “Albo, do you think the Rabbitohs will play finals?”

No, it would be tough topics like Trump’s trade tariffs* on Australian goods, our defence spending as percentage of GDP* and the AUKUS (being Australia, the United Kingdom and America) security pact to purchase, build and operate American New Jersey class atomic submarines*. Heavy stuff.

Albo did get a scheduled meeting with the Prez, but as fate would have it, the Israelis bombed Iran and the Iranians fired back, which saw President Trump depart the G7 meeting early to return to the US, leaving our PM in the lurch. “Stood up”, as they say.

To me, it was the classic date night disaster, with our poor PM left hanging. I liked the concept of being stood up on a date. It is a nice visual metaphor* and if you set the scene right, it could say a lot about a political situation.

I created a little restaurant scene with our PM seated at a table for two. To illustrate that it was a special occasion, he has a rose in his lapel* and champagne on ice with two glasses. I’m hoping the reader can guess by these accessories that Albo is out on a date.

But how can I show he has been stood up by his fellow diner without over-complicating things?

The restaurant is empty, it’s dark outside. All the dining chairs are stacked on tables, showing that the restaurant is closing for the night. Also, the chef is mopping the floors and most of the lights have been dimmed. Clearly, this eatery, the G7 Bistro, is done for the day and Mr Trump still hasn’t turned up.

I thought I needed to add some sort of punchline despite the scene painting the obvious picture and so with Albo still stoically* sitting there in hope despite the hour, I thought I would have him sending an optimistic* text message to Mr Trump with the question, “Are we still on tonight? Albo X”.

The reader can see what’s happening here, even if Mr Albanese cannot. He’s been stood up. Mr Trump is a no show. And that is the sad charm of the cartoon.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• G7: Group of Seven, a group of leading industrial countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – whose leaders meet regularly to discuss international political and economic issues
• tariffs: charges or taxes imposed on services or on goods entering one country from another
• GDP: Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year
• atomic submarine: submarine, being a vessel that can travel underwater, that is powered by nuclear energy
• metaphor: a way of describing someone or something by showing their similarity with something else
• lapel: on a jacket or coat, the two top parts at the front that are folded back on each side, extending from the collar
• stoically: without complaining or showing your feelings, especially when something bad is happening to you
• optimistic: hopeful, positive about the future

EXTRA READING

Israel and Iran: what is going on?

LA unrest fuels US President’s fire

Trump’s ‘Octagon Office’ diplomacy

QUICK QUIZ

1. In which country during which event was our PM Anthony Albanese due to meet US President Trump?
2. Why was their first ever face-to-face meeting cancelled?
3. To whom is Mr Albanese due to be married later this year?
4. What are three serious topics that were to have been discussed at the meeting between the two leaders?
5. What was the visual metaphor used by Mark Knight to illustrate what turned out to be a non-event?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Get Trump to reschedule
Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump really did have some important things to discuss, so Albo will no doubt want to reschedule their “date”. Help Albo out by writing three different requests to Mr Trump, asking him meet.

Request No. 1 can be a casual text message, keeping with the theme of Mark Knight’s cartoon. Request No. 2 should take the form of a short but more formal email. Request No. 3 should be a more detailed formal letter.

Once you have written your requests, decide which one you think would be the most effective and explain why.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
If you had a "date" with either our Prime Minister or President Trump, what are three topics you would want to discuss and what outcome would you hope for?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Civics and Citizenship

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part One. Think about what the rest of the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking